By 
The Supreme Court of Zambia has ruled that Situmbeko Chocho of the Ndola High Court “jumped the gun” when she dismissed a petition by former Lumezi lawmaker Munir Zulu challenging his prosecution for criminal libel, saying she determined matters not properly before her.
The case stemmed from Zulu’s 2023 allegations that Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane, Infrastructure Minister Charles Milupi and former Road Development Agency board chairperson Mulchand Kuntawala received illicit payments.
Zulu was prosecuted for criminal libel and later convicted by the Subordinate Court, serving a one-year sentence.
Zulu sought a stay of proceedings in the High Court and petitioned to have the prosecution declared unconstitutional.
Justice Chocho dismissed the petition, saying the court lacked jurisdiction.
But in a judgment delivered on March 13, 2026, a panel of Deputy Chief Justice Michael Musonda, Justice Nigel Mutunaand Justice Fulgency Chisanga found she erred by addressing issues not formally set before her.
Read More: Munir Zulu challenges continued detention, seeks high court intervention
“The learned judge below clearly misdirected herself… and jumped the gun by deciding to pronounce herself on what was not formally before her,” the Supreme Court said.
The court noted that when the case came before the High Court on June 4, 2025, the only application properly before Justice Chocho was the request for a stay of the criminal proceedings.
The petition itself had not been set down for hearing or argued.
By dismissing the petition outright, the Supreme Court said, the High Court exceeded its mandate.
The ruling on the petition was set aside, and the matter remitted to Justice Chocho to determine Zulu’s stay application.
WARNING! All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR.
Comments